Bow-eye loose?!?

[joshuadickey]

I just bought an '88 CP16. My first 'real' sailboat. I got her set up pretty quick for a first time out and spent the day on the lake, letting her try her turn at everything from a broad reach in some good gusts that made my fiance scream in panic to beating to windward in light winds that made my fiance wish we had a motor! It was a great day and even old Blue my American Bulldog was having a blast sleeping below deck.

One problem I did notice was a slow trickle from the bow eye. Aside from the minor plus that this fresh stream of water served to keep blue hydrated this did not give me warm fuzzies. It was also disconcerting when I noticed it pulling loose as I winched the boat back on the trailer at day's end! Closer inspection revealed that the wood block it is fastened to is indeed rotten.

Soooo... I need to do my first repair. I know that my first step will be to remove the bolts from the bow eye, then remove the bow eye itself, then remove all the rotten wood.
has anyone else suffered the same problem? any advice? How should I seal it once the eye has been replaced?

[mrb]

Hello joshuadickey

If you bow eye is like mine then the block of wood that is rotten is a little filler block on the inside of hull.  Hull should be solid glass.  If this is the case just clean up inside where block sits, shape a new block (I would seal it with some epoxy, get some of the two part epoxy that comes in a twin plastic tube mix it up in a small container and cover block with mix.)   If you are going to use old eye, or new,  fill the old holes with some thing like epoxy putty then drill new holes and mount eye.  Be sure to use a sealer around eye bolts.  I don't like silicone but you could carefully fill new holes, slide eye bolts in and tighten. let dry good and trim any sealer that squeezed out.

Good luck and congratulations on your new boat
melvin

[joshuadickey]

thanks for the detailed info, that is perfect! I believe that the holes in the fiberglass are still pretty tight around the eye, so I may not gain much by filling and redrilling, however, you do answer my big question: how do I keep it from leaking?

You suggest a sillicon sealant but you also seem to have some reservations about this. What other types of sealant are out there that would work in this application? My boat will primarily be used in saltwater. Actually it will probably spend the majority of its time docked in the canal in my new back-yard! (I close on the house next friday... fingers crossed!!!)

[mrb]

If you live in an area that has marine stores close by they will help you pick out a good sealant. I like the ones that cater to commercial fishermen.  Three M has some good sealants, adhesives and bedding compounds.   

How lucky can you get to have the boat at your back door.

melvin

[Craig Weis]

On my buddies Com-Pac 19 Wind Rover we decided to put a bow sprit on her.
The hardest thing we had to do...which took the most time was to peel off all the factory 3M-5200 from the nut and the screw to get the eye Ring nut off with a deep well 3/8 drive socket. 8 point not a 16 point socket. Because that is where the dauphin stay and it's tang goes to hold the bow spirit down against pull of the head stay.

Note that replacement or add on dauphin stay has a turn buckle on it. Put the turn buckle up under the bow sprit to keep the tunbuckle away from the vee block for the bow. I cut a piece of hefty rubber for wedge to pad 'tween the tang's pin and the fiberglass hull, Don't want to chip anything away.

Then after the nut was off it took another hour just to bang the eye bolt out of it's hole in the bow. That 3M-5200 is that good. Who need fasteners? I think we should have used skip's patented heat and beat method.

We did have to move the position of the winch on the trailer down on the bow. The bow vee block wanted to strike the dolphin stay. It now hits at the tang just below the reinstalled eye bolt.

Anyway you want to know this.

The easy way is to buy a small container of Marine-Tex from West Marine, mix up the whole batch, add a little saw dust for filler and epoxy [you'll have a long working time] the inside of the hole and the outside of the rotted block. When dry redrill the hole.

You ought to try to get the block of wood as dry as possible. Maybe run the hair dryer on it for a few hours. The block then would want to soak up the epoxy. It will be messy so you'll need a roll of paper towels and a big plastic bag for garbage and keep sopping up the runs. OR...

So what I would do is to R&R the eye ring and chop [hammer and chisel] out the inside rotting block of wood, cut a new one. File and sand to a perfect fit, drill a hole in this block for the eye bolt  [I would likly get a new ss eye bolt, washers and nylok nut from the Ace Hardware] and goop the heck out of it with 3M-5200 slow set, [green tube] and bolt and squeeze her together for a squishy fit. NO NEED to squeeze the assembly together so tight...like some of my friends do who hang onto a buffalo nickle so tight the buffalo craps...skip.

[Paul]

Joshuadickey:

Congrats on the new to you boat!

I have also experienced your situation and repaired it.  I took an impression of the inside of the boat; just the few inches around the bow eye area after removing the rotten plywood backer block.  IMHO, if it's rotten, it needs to go.  There was no resurrecting mine, anyway.  I fashioned a nice thick replacement backing block from 2x4.  Once this fit well (took about 30 min) I coated it with epoxy and some fiberglass on the flat side so the nuts and washers had a firm surface.  The rest of the epoxy work was simply to prevent any water penetration should the wood get wet in the future.  Drilled new holes in the wood. I chose to fill the holes in the hull and re-drill, but that's me.  There had been a lot of action in that area as Skip alluded to, so the holes were enlarged.  If it's a tight fit, you may opt out.  I happen tot like West System epoxy and have used it extensively on my 16 in the past.  So, any opportunity to use up some more is OK by me. 

I avoid silicone like the plague!!  Once it's on the hull, it's tough to get off.  If you never plan to paint the hull, then no big deal.  But, you  never know what the future might hold.  More importantly, it doesn't do the job of polysulfide or polyurethane.  Feel free to read up on this matter at any online marine store like West Marine or Jamestown Distributors.  My choice was polysulfide.

Good luck.

[Craig Weis]

If you plan on doing this again use some heat on the 3M-5200.  Maybe it would be easier to grind out the bolt with a Dremal tool or air driven die grinder.
Probably will save a huge amount of time and be much easier on the back. Also remove the little bulkhead that creates the 'chain locker' for the anchor line so one can skinny up in there. skip.
Or [light bulb over my head] I might simple use my Milwaukee SawZall and cut off the offending eye knowing I'm going to replace it from the outside and pound the slugs back into the hull with nuts attached. Works for me!. The a guy could R&R the rotted wood after chopping that out with hammer and chisel

[joshuadickey]

Ok, quick update!

After inspecting the nuts on the bow eye and reading David's post above, I decided that it would be in my best interest to just cut the bolt off. Unfortunately, I have no dremel, hacksaw or sawsall... Fortunately there was a mexican construction crew repairing the neighbors condo! After they cut the bolt for me (approx. 2 mins with power cutter), I removed all the rotten wood and surrounding material with a screwdriver, hammer, and pliers.

Time to replace and seal...

[joshuadickey]

Another update:

I got a scrap piece of pressure treated 2x4 from the local woodshop... Shaping the block is no easy task with no tools! I found an old saw at a garage sale for a dollar and spent the last hour or so trimming away at the wood. Finally got it cut down and it doesn't look half bad! After a trip to West Marine for Marine-Tex and a new bow eye, I'm just about ready to get her done!

I'm headed outside right now to cement in the new block with the Marine-Tex. Tomorrow after church I should be able to redrill the holes and seal in the new bow-eye with some 3M-5200...

Thanks for all the help!

[Craig Weis]

You were lucky to find a few homebuilders ready, willing , and able to help with that pesky bow eye. Via la Mexico. skip.

All you got to do is find a drill?
If you have a drill motor don't you have a bit? I got about 90 lb of the buggers.
Some are even sharp enough to drill through a stick of butter, other's will set the butter afire, there so dull.

[joshuadickey]

Tell me about it! I love the latin culture and my limited espanol was just enough to evoke their help. I also got a big break getting the wood for free and finding a saw for a dollar... I love garage sales!

So, the Marine-Tex is curing and all I need now is to find a drill... craigslist perhaps?